Brewster knocks off Cape League's defending champs

SOUTH YARMOUTH – A pair of young Brewster fans stood along the fence next to the Whitecaps’ dugout at Red Wilson Field. “We’re all having heart attacks,” one boy shouted, and moments later another wailed, “I’m like shaking!”

Brewster manager Jamie Shevchick’s shout and subsequent bear-hug of his assistant coaches after the final out suggested far more than a few fans felt all that tension.

A.J. Graffanino of the University of Washington belted a two-out RBI double in the top of 10th, leading the Whitecaps to an 8-7 win over three-time defending Cape League champion Yarmouth-Dennis in Wednesday’s deciding Game 3 of the East Division semifinals.

The season ended for the second-seeded Red Sox, who had rallied to score two runs in the bottom of the ninth inning.

Brewster won its first playoff series since 2000, the Whitecaps’ most recent championship year. The Red Sox started 4-0-1 against third-seeded Brewster in the regular season, but the Whitecaps won three of the last four matchups.

“The mentality has changed,” Shevchik said. “The team that wins this every year is the team that when you’re stuck with the guys at the end, they’re the guys that want to play and want to win a championship. … It’s about guys that really want to win and I think that’s what we have.”

Riley McCauley (Michigan State) got the first two outs of the 10th, but Zack Gahagan (North Carolina) kept the inning alive with a single to left. Graffanino fell behind 0-1 in the count before crushing a double into the right-center field gap, driving in Gahagan for the 8-7 lead.

“I was kind of just letting my instincts and my athleticism take over,” Graffanino said. “I know how bad everyone wanted to win this game, especially our coaches and the fans.”

Granted a second lead, Kansas’ Ryan Cyr got it done in the 10th, retiring Y-D in order and getting Luke Miller (Indiana) to ground out to shortstop Graffanino to end the game. Cyr walked Kyle Isbel (UNLV) with two outs and the bases loaded to force in a run in the ninth, and pinch-runner Christian Koss (California Irvine) scored on a wild pitch for the 7-7 tie.

“Great game,” said Y-D manager Scott Pickler. “For our kids not to quit right there in the ninth inning, and we had a chance to win it in the ninth and just didn’t get it done.”

Miller (3-for-5, three runs scored, RBI) gave the Red Sox a 1-0 lead with a solo home run in the second, but Maryland’s Marty Costes singled home Chandler Taylor for the game-tying RBI in the third. Kyle Datres (North Carolina) added a two-run double in the third for the 3-1 lead.

A wild pitch and RBI singles by Drew Mendoza, Nick Quintana and Nico Hoerner put Y-D up 5-3 in the fifth, but Nick Dunn doubled and scored on a wild pitch to start the Brewster seventh.

Costes (2-for-4, two RBIs, two runs) then crushed a solo homer off Brendan Nail for the 5-5 tie. Datres (2-for-4, three RBIs, one run) put Brewster ahead with a solo shot off McCauley in the eighth, and Mickey Gasper (Merrimack) added an RBI single in the ninth to go up 7-5.

“This has to rank higher than any game I’ve ever been part of,” Costes said. “I don’t realize, sometimes, how important it is to these people, and I’m glad I was able to help.”